In the Age of AI, Power Becomes National Security... Exploring Legislation for Grid Expansion and Cybersecurity

Institute for National Security Strategy Holds Seminar on "Strengthening Power Security through the Development of the Power Industry"

The Institute for National Security Strategy announced on August 19 that it co-hosted a seminar titled "Strengthening Power Security through the Development of the Power Industry" with Assemblyman Park Sunwon of the Democratic Party of Korea at Conference Room 3 of the National Assembly Members' Office Building.

This seminar was organized to explore ways to provide legislative support for the development of the power industry and the strengthening of power security, at a time when the importance of the power grid is growing due to the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) industries and the ongoing energy transition. The seminar regarded electricity as core infrastructure from a national security perspective.

Kim Seong-bae, President of the Institute for National Security Strategy, said in his opening remarks, "Power security is a complex task that is closely linked to not only grid operations but also supply chain security, cybersecurity, industrial policy, and diplomacy and national security." He emphasized, "It is necessary to identify legislative support measures needed for the power industry and to share experiences in technology development, power grid operations, and the industrial field."

Assemblyman Park Sunwon stressed, "Electricity is not just the foundation of industry and people’s livelihoods but a core asset of national security. As we are simultaneously facing a climate crisis and a major transition to the AI industry, the expansion of the power grid and the energy transition must be approached from both industrial and security policy perspectives."

Kim Joungho, Chair of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment, and Labor Committee, stated that insufficient generation facilities and vulnerabilities in the transmission and distribution networks could entail national security risks, and pledged to support related proposals so that they could be reflected in legislation and the budget. Baek Woo-ki, Executive Vice President at Korea Electric Power Corporation, also highlighted the need for timely expansion of the national power grid.

During the seminar, Professor Chang Gilsoo of Korea University chaired a discussion under the theme "Legislative Support Measures for Power Security and Industrial Development." Participants included Oh Ilseok, Director of the New Security Research Division at the Institute for National Security Strategy; Park Changryul, Director of Planning at Korea Electric Power Corporation; Seo Jangcheol, Executive Director at LS ELECTRIC; Lee Jeongho, Principal Researcher at Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute; and Han Geunhee, Vice President at Core Security. They discussed topics such as the expansion and advancement of the power grid, the utilization of energy storage systems (ESS) and distributed energy, as well as cybersecurity and emergency recovery systems.

The Institute for National Security Strategy plans to continue research on power security based on field opinions raised at the seminar and to propose necessary legislative improvements to the National Assembly.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.